Circle of Fear
by FeatherEars
Summary: Set after Vergil's Downfall. Kat and Dante put a stop to Vergil's demon army when they find a way to suppress his powers. With Vergil bound and monitored, they believe an intervention is necessary, though Kat struggles with confusing feelings during this time. VergilxKat


Disclaimer: The characters within are the property of Capcom.

This is just something I wanted to write to give me a bit of breathing room from another fanfic I'm currently working on, so expect updates to be irregular. This hasn't been beta'd by anyone, just proof read by myself so please let me if there is anything you think should be brought to my attention.

* * *

There was a pain in Kat's left arm - a throbbing deep in the bone. The sensation didn't affect her actions, but she knew the reason for the feeling; the weather was about to turn.

Her arm, which had once been broken beneath Mundus' torturing hands, was now sensitive to the changes in atmospheric pressure. A regular reminder of what she had gone through. An invisible scar to carry.

"Kat! Now!" Dante yelled from a distance.

Kat tore away from the demons she had been filling with lead. She had never been a good shooter and she doubted she ever would be, but she had asked Dante to give her a few tips some time ago, and he had been happy to help her out. She felt it was important to to be independent on a battlefield and not just sit on the sidelines and feel worthless like she used to. As much as she hated the word, she did want to be..._useful_. Such a simple word, yet it always left a bad taste in her mouth now. The reason for that was struggling under Dante's sword.

"Vergil," Kat breathed, her old boots kicking up blood as she came skidding to a halt next to them. A power play was underway, Dante struggling to keep his injured sibling under him. Vergil's eyes were glowing red, his devil trigger throwing off a fierce blue aura. His dark leather coat had been frayed at the edges from the battle.

"Hurry, Kat, use it!" Dante urged, baring his teeth at his brother.

The young woman slung her backpack off her shoulders and onto the ground, ripping the material open and pulling out an item she had made herself for this specific occasion.

A pair of old handcuffs, retrofitted with Wiccan spells and engravings. Upgraded for a single purpose - to suppress supernatural powers. Her sweat and blood had gone into this little beauty, and it was by far her greatest achievement yet. It was the product of months of research and work.

Whilst Dante wrestled a growling Vergil to his side, Kat lay down and yanked the Nephilim's hands back. When the locks on the old fashioned shackles clicked into place around his wrists, it almost felt like the time she had put the last bullet in the demon that had paraded as her foster father. It was cathartic. This man next to her had turned an abused and fragile teenager into a mere tool, making her feel like she had a home and was wanted when it was all a lie. She yanked the chains back forcefully.

"These chains are _useful, _huh Dante?" Kat stated coolly over Vergil's shoulder, right near his ear. Demonic eyes flicked sideways to stare at her harshly. She got up and walked away then, needing to calm down, or redirect her energy. She decided to fire her pistol at the last of the demons that swarmed above them, the ranks of Vergil's unnatural army now wavering due to the turn of events.

"They sure are, babe," she heard Dante coo to his brother, no doubt trying to rile his brother and find a little solace in revenge himself.

"You're all pathetic!" Vergil spat, the red in his eyes dying down as the spell awoke, being replaced by a glacial and steely blue.

"Guess all that demonic power didn't help you, huh?" Dante said, his voice a little sad as he pulled his brother over his shoulders.

Just as Kat and Dante set off it started to rain, Vergil's protests dying out under the sound.

* * *

Since the Hellgate had disappeared and Limbo had merged with the world, Kat and Dante had been kept ridiculously busy trying to quell their numbers. They were currently squatting in an old police station that had seen a lot of damage when the demons had arrived. The ground and upper floors had collapsed, leaving only a concealed stairway which lead to the cells in the basement. Behind an inch thick iron door were concrete walls, floors and ceiling. Barred doors, rusted and creaky from disuse, marked each cell along one wall. Off in one corner was a communal shower which was open to the elements, and the other corner had a desk and chair, where a person could have full view of the cells. She and Dante made modifications to the place to make it livable; the showers were blocked off by two medical curtain screens on wheels that could easily be moved around. There was an old leather sofa that's legs had to be removed before it could fit through the door. There was also a small improvised kitchen area set up in one of the cells, complete with a camping stove and metal saucepans.

Dante took Vergil into one of the cells, the formers angry breathing echoing in their sparse, open plan living space. The blue clad twin was deposited on a metal chair, his shackled hands settled behind the back of him uncomfortably. Dante took further precautions, using rope and duct tape on his brothers hands, making sure he was rendered immobile in his weakened state.

Kat appeared quietly at the cell door as Dante sighed and sat on the prison issue bed that was set against one wall.

"What made you do this, Verg'?" Dante questioned, starring deep into his brother's cold eyes as he placed his hands on his knees. "Leading the demons against humans? Weren't you going to protect them?"

Kat noted that Vergil's fair hair had fell in his face, no longer slicked back. It made him look identical to Dante, whose shaggy outgrown hair now only had one tuft of black at the back. It made her feel uncomfortable, like their appearances should have been as different to each other as their personalities were.

"I thought you were protecting them?" Vergil laughed in a hollow way, his head falling back with the motion.

"You'd endanger the people you said you would protect because of our relationship?" Dante scowled, looking away from the other man in frustration.

"We have no relationship!" Vergil sneered, for a moment trying to break from his bonds with brute force, but he was only as strong as a human now.

"Let's leave him, Dante," Kat said softly, just as she knew things were about to get worse. Her voice seemed to cut the tension, as the older twin shrugged and got up. "He can't harm anyone anymore." As Dante left the cell, she moved out of his way and touched his shoulder as he passed.

Looking back to Vergil, she found he was starring at her intently, eyes piercing hers. She would of felt uncomfortable in the past, but in his confined state she felt confident.

"I don't even want to imagine how your mother would feel if she found out what you had become," Kat said solemnly before turning around and leaving him alone.

* * *

Vergil was momentarily tempted to rebuff her accusation, and state that he had in fact witnessed his mother's realisation of the demon he had become in a different dimension. He wanted to tell her he cared very little. But his reaction would only prove he cared, and he refused to prove anything like that.

He knew in hindsight he had been manipulated by a demon when he returned to his childhood home after having defeated Mundus and barely escaping Dante's wrath alive. At that point he had been vulnerable, and the Hollow Vergil had played on his carefully concealed feelings; his fondness of Kat, his jealousy of Dante and his selfish love for his mother.

In the spectral plane, when he had slain the apparition of Kat after an outburst of anger, he felt his heart become a little numb, his wounds not as painful. It felt like he was healing.

When he had murdered the apparition of Dante, he was barely able to feel anything at all. It was such sweet relief.

When he had presented his mother, Eva, with Dante's pendant and confessed to his murder, he felt his heart disconnect completely after watching her grieve over his brother and wonder at the monster her second son had become.

A finally, before the demon could truly take a hold of him, Vergil slew it as well to obtain whatever power the creature held.

He had felt without burden, free of feelings. He had thought himself more powerful as well, ready to take what he thought rightfully his - the world.

A sliver of guilt was felt just then at his recollections, but Vergil mentally groaned, trying to keep it in check. He did not want to feel anything ever again. Not after all that had happened.


End file.
